Production of heavy nuclei in the interaction of <Superscript>7</Superscript>Li ions with copper nuclei at an energy of 35 MeV per nucleon

The absolute values of the cross sections for the production of target fragments in the interaction of copper with ⁷Li ions at an energy of 35 MeV per nucleon were measured. The measurements were performed by recording the yields of radioactive nuclear residues with the aid of a semiconductor detector from ultrapure germanium. The charge and isobaric distributions in the mass-number range 22–69 amu were used to deduce the mass yield of reaction products and to calculate the total interaction cross section. The results are presented that were derived from a comparison with data obtained for ¹²C + Cu reactions and with estimates based on theoretical models.     

Charged Particle Trajectories in the MAVR High-Resolution Magnetic Spectrometer

Charged-particle trajectories in the MAVR high-resolution magnetic spectrometer [1] are simulated. The latter has been constructed at the U400 accelerator for purifying the incident beam and identifying the products of nuclear reactions induced by the beams of stable and radioactive nuclei. In this paper we present the MAVRPC software package, aimed at reconstructing the spectrometer focal plane, optimizing the fields of quadrupole and dipole magnets, and estimating the solid-angle acceptance for secondary particles.     

The neutron drip line in the region of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>=20 and <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>=28 closures

Experimental studies of neutron drip line nuclei are introduced. The neutron drip line in the oxygen-magnesium region has been explored by the projectile fragmentation of a ⁴⁸Ca beam. New neutron-rich isotopes, ³⁴Ne and ³⁷Na, have been observed together with some evidence for the particle instability of ³³Ne and ³⁶Na. Recent data on mass measurements of neutron-rich nuclei at GANIL and some characteristics of binding energies in this region are discussed. Nuclear binding energies are very sensitive to the existence of nuclear shells, and together with the measurements of instability of doubly magic nuclide ²⁸O, they provide information on changes in neutron shell closures of very neutron-rich isotopes from carbon up to calcium. The conclusion about a rearrangement in neutron shell closures is given. The spectroscopic measurements can reveal details of the underlying microscopic structures; in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy is an effective tool to check for shell closures. The results on the γ-ray energies of the first 2⁺ level in even-even nuclei for the range N=12–32 are discussed. The strength of N=20 and N=28 shells is variable in the region from carbon up to magnesium.     

Setup for fission and evaporation cross-section measurements in reactions induced by secondary beams

A setup for studying reactions induced by secondary radioactive beams has been constructed. It allows simultaneous measurement of α-particle and fission fragment energy spectra. By measuring the α particles, identification of evaporation residues is achieved. A set of three targets can be used so as to ensure sufficient statistics. Two silicon detectors, located at 90° to the secondary beam direction, face each target, thus covering 30% of the solid angle. This experimental setup is to be used to obtain excitation functions of fusion-fission reactions and of reactions leading to evaporation residue production.     

Independent yields of Kr and Xe isotopes in the photofission of heavy nuclei

The yields of Kr (A = 87–93) and Xe (A = 138–143) primary fission fragments produced in ²³²Th, ²³⁸U, and ²⁴⁴Pu photofission upon the scission of a target nucleus and neutron emission were measured in an experiment with bremsstrahlung from electrons accelerated to 25 MeV by a microtron, and the results of these measurements are presented. The experimental procedure used involved the transportation of fragments that escaped from the target by a gas flow through a capillary and the condensation of Kr and Xe inert gases in a cryostat at liquid-nitrogen temperature. The fragments of all other elements were retained with a filter at the capillary inlet. The isotopes of Kr and Xe were identified by the γ spectra of their daughter products. The mass-number distributions of the independent yields of Kr and Xe isotopes are obtained and compared with similar data on fission induced by thermal and fast neutrons; the shifts of the fragment charges with respect to the undistorted charge distribution are determined. Prospects for using photofission fragments in studying the structure of highly neutron-rich nuclei are discussed.     

Dynamics of the Neutron Transfer Process in the Reaction $${}^{{181}}$$ Ta( $${}^{{18}}$$ O, $${}^{{19}}$$ O) at an Energy of 10 MeV per Nucleon

Physics of Atomic Nuclei - The results of an experiment carried out on the MAVR high-resolution magnetic spectrometer and devoted to studying neutron transfer in the $${}^{18}\textrm{O}+^{181}$$ Ta...     

Excitation functions for 44Sc, 46Sc, and 47Sc radionuclides produced in the interaction of 45Sc with deuterons and 6He

Experimental excitation functions are presented for ⁴⁵Sc(d, p)⁴⁶Sc, ⁴⁵Sc(d, t)⁴⁴Sc, ⁴⁵Sc(⁶He, ⁵He*)⁴⁶Sc and ⁴⁵Sc(6He, α)⁴⁷Sc reactions at projectile energies near the Coulomb barrier. The obtained excitation functions for reactions ⁴⁵Sc(d, p)⁴⁶Sc and ⁴⁵Sc(⁶He, ⁵He*)⁴⁶Sc have similar behavior and have a maxima near the Coulomb barriers of these reactions. The compilation of the available experimental data, obtained at deuteron- and ⁶He-energies near the Coulomb barrier, showed that the values of the cross sections at the maxima of the excitation functions obtained in (d, p) reactions and the reactions for one-neutron pickup from the ⁶He projectiles have a different Z-dependence.     

Study of the diffraction scattering 12C + 12C with the excitation of the 12C exotic state 0 2 + (the Hoyle state)

New results from a series of experiments dedicated to the study of the ¹²C exotic state (the so-called Hoyle state) are presented. In spite of the many investigations that have been carried out, the structure of this state (which lies above the threshold for breaking up into three alpha particles) is still unknown. The different models assume that the nucleus has an abnormally large size in this excited state. However, until recently, methods for measuring the radii of unbound states have not been suggested. The best way to solve this problem seems to be by measuring the angular distributions of elastic and inelastic scattering of ¹²C on different target nuclei, and the determination of the radii is based on the fact that, at small scattering angles, the cross sections for direct reactions at high enough energies behave like Frauenhofer diffraction on a black ball. Accordingly, an experiment was performed aimed at measuring the elastic and inelastic angular distributions of ¹²C with an energy of (121.5 ± 0.5) MeV on a ¹²C target. The elastic scattering was measured in the angular range from 18° to 50° in the c.m. system with uncertainty in the angle of measurement equal to Δθ = ± 0.6°. The inelastic cross section was measured for the ¹²C excited state 2⁺ (4.44 MeV) and 0⁺ (7.65 MeV). Estimates were made for the diffraction radii for the ground and excited states. An increase was observed in the radius of the state at 7.65 MeV compared to those of the ground and first excited states.     

Shell effects in the evolution of the mass asymmetry in heavy-ion collisions leading to composite systems withZ=108

Fragment mass distributions are presented obtained in the heavy-ion reactions²²Ne+²⁴⁹Cf,³²S+²³⁸U,⁴⁰Ar+²³²Th and⁵⁶Fe+²⁰⁸Pb leading to composite systems with equal nuclear charge numberZ=108. The experiments were performed at the heavy-ion cyclotron U 300 of the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions in Dubna. The spectrometer DEMAS was used to measure the time-of-flight values and the laboratory angles of the correlated fragments. The shape of the mass distributions strongly depends on the initial mass asymmetry. When decreasing the bombarding energy down to values near the Coulomb barrier, the mass distributions obtained in the reactions³²S+²³⁸U and⁴⁰Ar+²³²Th exhibit relative maxima ofM≈205 interpreted to be due to stabilizing effects of nuclear shells during the fragmentation process.     

Search for the ternary cluster decay of Cm isotopes using SSNTD

Investigation of the ²⁴⁶Cm spontaneous ternary decay into nearly equal clusters using polyethyleneterephthalate track detectors has been carried out. The possibility of ternary cluster decay has been found out to be of less than 10⁻⁶ with respect to all fission modes of ²⁴⁶Cm.